Fubon stays ahead despite fall in profit

By Crystal Hsu / Staff reporter

Thu, Jan 10, 2013 - Page 13

Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), Taiwan’s second-largest financial service provider by assets, reported net profit for last year of NT$28.6 billion (US$982.48 million), down 7.74 percent from a year earlier, company data showed.

The results translated into earnings per share (EPS) of NT$3.01, making Fubon Financial the most profitable among 15 listed financial conglomerates for the fourth consecutive year, the company said in a stock filing on Tuesday.

Its main subsidiaries, Fubon Life Insurance Co (富邦人壽) and Taipei Fubon Commercial Bank (台北富邦銀行), generated NT$13.03 billion and NT$12.95 billion in net income respectively, accounting for 45 percent each, according to the filing.

Fubon Financial president Victor Kong (龔天行) attributed the earnings slowdown last year to a high comparison base in 2011 buoyed by the divestment of Fubon Multimedia Technology Co (富邦媒體科技), which operates the nation’s second-most popular TV shopping channel, MoMo TV.

The group aims to accelerate it expansion in China this year after inking a deal last month to buy an 80 percent stake in China’s First Sino Bank (華一銀行) which operates 14 branches and outlets in first-tier Chinese cities.

State-run Mega Financial Holding Co (兆豐金控) ranked second with record profits of NT$21.51 billion, or EPS of NT$1.88, on the back of bad loan recoveries in Europe and a higher interest margin on foreign currency products.

The group expects profits to slow this year as securities prices remain stable but are relatively higher in the absence of volatility.

Revenue at its flagship unit, Mega Mega International Commercial Bank (兆豐國際商銀), shrank to NT$897 million last month, from an average of NT$1.7 billion last year, confirming weakened operations, the group said.

Chinatrust Financial Holding Co (中信金控), owner of the nation’s largest credit card issuer, also filed a record profit of NT$21.18 billion last year with EPS of NT$1.65, thanks to growing lending, wealth management and lottery businesses, the company said on Tuesday.

Annualized first year premiums at Chinatrust Life Insurance Co (中信人壽) grew 4.75 times last year, while the ranking of first year premiums climbed to 9th place, ten notches higher from a year earlier, the group said.

Chinatrust Commercial Bank (中信銀) plans to raise provision for Tier 1 loans to 1 percent this year to meet the higher threshold required by the Financial Supervisory Commission on Sunday, the group said.

Bank-focused E. Sun Financial Holding Co (玉山金控) reported NT$7.08 billion in net income last year with EPS of NT$1.46, a six-year high, the company said.

Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控) posted NT$1.03 billion of net profit last year, with EPS rising to an eight-year high of NT$1.29, its stock filing said.

SinoPac Financial Holdings Co (永豐金控) filed a record profit of NT$9.48 billion last year, or EPS of NT$1.26, the company said.